- The Food Bank of Delaware’s new 67,000-square-foot Milford facility is more than four times larger than its current building.
- The new warehouse will serve Kent and Sussex counties where food distribution has increased 79% in the past five years.
- The property will include job training classrooms, a café open to the public where food service students can work and a 3.5-acre garden.
Over the past five years, food distribution in Kent and Sussex counties from the Food Bank of Delaware’s Milford branch increased 79%, so where do you store all that food?
Some is delivered to the nonprofit’s other facility in Glasgow, which cuts the space available for items being distributed in New Castle County.
With more items to sort and pack, more volunteers are needed along with space to accommodate them.
Meanwhile, the Food Bank is trying to help people learn job skills, with training to work in restaurants, cafeterias and warehouses.
With all the needs, the nonprofit had to rent an additional building.
But now with donations, grants and government support, the Food Bank is expanding operations in Milford in a big way.
A 67,000-square-foot facility under construction on Delaware Veterans Boulevard west of Route 113 is more than four times larger than the current 16,000-square-foot facility on Mattlind Way. Groundbreaking was held Sept. 29, and completion is set for this fall.
“This is more than just a building – it symbolizes hope for so many,” said Food Bank of Delaware president and chief executive officer Cathy Kanefsky.
About $5 million is needed to complete the $34 million project. For information on donating, see the Food Bank’s website or call 302-294-0185.
Need for food at an all-time high in Delaware
Although many pandemic-era assistance programs have ended, the number of people having difficulty affording food keeps increasing.
In fiscal year 2019, the Food Bank distributed more than 8.6 million pounds of food from its Newark and Milford locations. In fiscal year 2022, that number jumped to about 16.5 million pounds.
The new building will provide space to store and distribute an estimated 9.7 million additional pounds. That includes 3.7 million more pounds of fresh foods with the new refrigerated space.
While donations from community food drives remain strong, items provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture have decreased with an end to extra assistance during the pandemic. So the Food Bank has to buy more.
“We purchased more food in the past year than at any point in the history of our organization,” said Chad Robinson, the Food Bank’s director of external affairs. “The need is significantly higher than before the pandemic.”
The demand is fueled by: the population increase, the end of extra SNAP assistance (formerly food stamps) that had been given during the pandemic, and inflation that’s the highest in decades, said Food Bank communications director Kim Turner.
More:Inflation is crushing Delawareans: Here’s how are your neighbors cope
The nonprofit distributes some items at its centers in Glasgow and Milford, but mostly through a network of partners including state service centers, community food pantries, churches and other organizations.
The Food Bank also still holds monthly drive-thru distributions in each county that served thousands during the pandemic, but those large-scale events are scheduled to end in June.
More:4,000 families served at drive-thru food pantries after food assistance drops
In addition to food storage, plans include garden, café, job training
The warehouse will have nine loading bays and storage space two stories tall for fresh and nonperishable foods, with refrigerator and freezer cases, but the new facility will meet a variety of other needs.
“We do more than provide food,” said Kanefsky. “We provide hope for a better tomorrow. This building will allow us to … help our neighbors find long-term economic stability through job skills training, financial coaching and more.”
The property will include:
- A classroom and hands-on training space for job skills programs in culinary arts and warehouse logistics. The Food Bank has added a culinary skills program for adults with disabilities in addition to the existing food service industry training program. In the warehouse program, students receive training in how a warehouse operates, working machinery and driving a forklift.
- A café, open to the public for breakfast and lunch, to provide employment and training opportunities to graduates of the culinary arts program.
- A pantry area where people in need can pick out food similar to a grocery store. For those who prefer contactless delivery, the pantry will have a drive-up loading bay.
- A 4,000-square-foot room where volunteers can sort and pack food, with an area for volunteer orientation sessions. Last year, the Milford facility had 3,443 volunteer visits and a total of 9,358 hours donated
- Offices on the second floor for the staff.
- A 3.5-acre garden with greenhouses and an orchard along with a packing barn. The nonprofit is planning partnerships with nearby facilities, the Delaware Veterans Home and the Boys & Girls Club, with volunteer opportunities in the garden, education for students and a place for veterans to enjoy a tranquil spot outdoors.
What’s going to happen to the current Milford Food Bank facility? It’s already been sold, and the nonprofit is renting it until the new building is finished.
Reporter Ben Mace covers real estate and development news. Reach him at rmace@gannett.com.
